TWRA Holding OHV Community Hostage

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Iva Michelle Russell, iva@ivamichellerussell.com

TWRA Holding OHV Community Hostage

Nashville, TN – Legislative negotiations broke down Tuesday as the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) continues to hold the Tennessee Off-Highway Vehicle community hostage over federal funding expenditures.

“I just can’t believe a governmental agency could be allowed to callously disregard the mandates of an Act that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor of this state” comments Iva Michelle Russell, Legislative Chairman for the Tennessee Off-Highway Vehicle Association (TOHVA) and Executive Director of OHV4TN. “The last time I checked, the needs of the people of this state were more important than governmental primacy”.

The legislative negotiations revolve around the 2004 Tennessee Off-Highway Vehicle Act, sponsored by now Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey which started as a Governor’s initiative in the late 1990’s. The Act created an Off-Highway Vehicle program in the state of Tennessee that mandated a statewide system of environmentally sustainable trails as well as adult and youth safety education.

TWRA, the OHV program’s current agency home, began receiving OHV federal grant money in 2004. TWRA has been exclusively using the funds at their Royal Blue facility in East Tennessee while also taking in OHV permit fees that have risen steadily over the years to over $64,000 in 2007. Discounted Hunting/OHV permits are not included in this figure. There is still $1.1 million in unused grant funds to date. The TWRA Commission has voted each year not to create further trail systems across the state nor create the adult and youth safety education programs stipulated in the Act.

The 2009 OHV legislative agenda (SB280, HB365) would transfer the OHV program from TWRA to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), allow TWRA to keep their Royal Blue facility, and mandate an equal distribution of federal funding between each grand division of the state. “TDEC is in the trail building business and we certainly don’t want to be with an agency that has no desire to do anything with our program except take our money. There are over 880,000 OHV users in our state that are not currently being served and that is ridiculous.” states Russell.

In the Tennessee Governor’s 2002 Off-Highway Vehicle Study, OHV recreation had an estimated statewide economic impact of $3.4 Billion. Neighboring states have created trail systems that have successfully aided local rural economies as well as tax revenue. In a recent study, West Virginia saw an increase of $622,752 in state and local tax revenue, direct income of $2.7 million and 146 new jobs from their Hatfield-McCoy Trail System located in 8 WV rural counties.

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Government Gone Wild

In 2006 I made a campaign promise to help the OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) industry in Tennessee. Being a political junkie, I took on the cause with great relish. How hard could it be?! Three years later, I am still amazed at how hard it really is but dang it has been fun.

Unfortunately, I have also learned that Logic doesn't seem to play a part in most politics.

Here is another edition of Government Gone Wild.

Some frustrated with lead mandates
Libraries, bike shops scramble to comply with new requirements
by Jimmy Myers
Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Minimal amounts of lead in aluminum casting have caused some to be concerned about motorcycles such as this one made for young children.

With Congress saying “get the lead out,” local retailers and librarians are wondering if common sense gets chucked along with it.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which goes into effect Feb. 10, is meant to protect children from lead-laden products. But when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gave libraries two options, get rid of all your children’s books or ban anyone under 12 from entering the library, librarians across the country waited for the punch line. But it never came.

“I was speechless,” said Mary Beth Revels, director of the St. Joseph Public Library. “To know it wasn’t a joke and those were our choices.”

After discussing the situation with the library board, she deduced that they would not pack away the library’s 70,000 children’s books and they weren’t going to close the library doors to children.

“We felt that if libraries didn’t comply with this across the country, that we would be taking a stand of continuing to connect children with books,” Ms. Revels said.

The publishing industry has tested the lead content in books, Ms. Revels said, and the levels are within legal limits. But the commission won’t recognize those tests because they weren’t carried out in a “certified lab.”

“But there are no certified labs,” she said incredulously.

And though librarians can’t give an estimate of how many of their children’s books end up in the mouths of readers, Ms. Revels said they’ve never had to replace a book destroyed by an orally fixated patron.

Luckily, libraries have received a reprieve that will last one year, and the commission will consider which products should be exempt from the law.

But local motorcycle shops that sell kid bikes aren’t so lucky. They will not be allowed to sell motorcycles to children as of Feb. 10.

Motorcycles contain lead parts on the batteries and various other areas of the engine.

“It’s so stupid,” said Mike McBride, owner of McBride’s Yamaha on the Belt Highway. “You’d have to suck on an engine case for hours a day to get any lead out of it.”

He’s got about 10 motorcycles that he’ll have to pull off the showroom floor on the 10th if he doesn’t sell them first, which he said won’t happen.

With fines up to $150,000, Mr. McBride said he’s not going to risk keeping them on the floor. Instead, he’ll pay interest on them until “it gets resolved.”

“I think everybody thought (the commission) would have a flash of common sense, but that didn’t happen,” he said.

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com.

This Week

My political junkie mojo is heating up fast. Some people feel the excitement of the new American Idol or 24 season, I get giddy when the Tennessee legislative session starts again.

Today, the first voting for Constitutional Officers begins (2pm). I will be keeping up with that via my favorite bloggers. Tomorrow is the House and Senate leadership elections (12pm). I will be there for the House elections. It is sure to be a heart pounder. Never underestimate Jimmy Naifeh. You can watch it via streaming video @ www.legislature.state.tn.us

The day will start early, but I will try to do some blogging while I am there. Since there is a full day of festivities I am just going to stay downtown and hit the music scene too. Then get up in the morning and meet with Commissioner Whitaker on my OHV Legislative agenda.

Let the games begin!

Update: The Tennessean just pulled a bs move in a "breaking news" story. I think someone should file an ethics complaint on them.